Registered Charity No. 1120876 Europoint House 5 Lavington Street London SE1 0NZ Telephone : +44 (0)20 7261 9650 E-mail : education@britain-nigeria.org Website: www.britain-nigeria.org CONFIDENTIAL NIGERIA DIGEST – June 2015

Education  Educational Prospects and Policy of President Muhammadu Buhari’s new Government The new Government has a policy of free education, beginning from first to ninth grade and then up to university level. This means that in future Federal Government budgets the education sector will receive the highest allocation for both capital and recurrent expenditure.

As an initial step, the new administration has ordered all of the Federal universities and colleges, primary and secondary schools to furnish the Ministry of Education with full details of the number of students enrolled per programme, the cost per head per annum of training each of the students, as well as providing information regarding the deficiencies in learning, in teaching, resources and infrastructure. The new Vice President, Professor Yemi Osindajo confirmed this, in an announcement after his inauguration on 29 th May. In his statement he lamented that, “One of the basic problems confronting education in the country is the lack of training for teachers, especially those in the public schools, and that a continuous education for teachers is one of the core programmes of the new administration”.

Through an announcement by the then Minister of Education, Mammam Ibrahim Shekarau, the outgoing administration announced that in future all teachers must be in possession of a first class degree to meet the minimum teaching qualification standards in Nigeria. This augurs well for the standard of education for children and mature students in receiving quality education from properly qualified teachers in the future in Nigeria.

 UNESCO UNESCO has just published its 2015 Global Monitoring report entitled “Education for all 2000-2015; Achievements and Challenges”. In this report it states that Nigeria now has the highest number of out-of-school children and one of the worst education systems in the world. The report stated that the political leadership has been identified as corrupt, losing US$21 million of education funding over 2 years. Despite Nigeria's GNP per capita growing substantially between 1999-2012, investment in education remains low. As a result the most basic of resources for education are limited, whilst an additional 220,000 primary school teachers (representing 15% of the global total) are needed. The report further revealed that the gap between the poor and the average in Nigeria has increased with the number of children from the poorest households going to primary school falling from 30% to 25% in 2013, adding that no country in sub-Saharan Africa has achieved the EFA goals.

In response, the National Co-ordinator of the Education Rights campaign, Mr Hassan Soweto, said that this is a damning indictment of the failure of capitalism to meet the basic need of Nigerians for education, adding that the dilapidated state of public education was a consequence of the neo-liberal and pro-market education of the past decade that de-emphasised the Government role in providing investment for education.

In his statement he added, “We have a shortage of at least 220,000 teachers. In 2008 there were 17 million more illiterate adults than there were in 1991. Put together, Nigeria parades an embarrassing spectacle of a nation of substantially illiterate population put at over 40 million.”

 The Global Partnership for Education The Federal Government recently signed a N20 billion (US$100 million) grant agreement with the Global Partnership for Education to support reading and writing skills, including bringing more girls into basic education and to create a robust monitoring and evaluation system for the education sector in Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Sokoto states. GPE, which is an initiative partly funded by the US Agency for International Development, will help the Nigerian Ministry of Education train teachers and increase access to quality primary education for Nigerian children. In addition to US aid, the GPE consortium in Nigeria includes finance from the Japanese International Co-operation Agency, the World Bank and the UK Department for International Development.

 The Africa Centres of Excellence The Africa Centres of Excellence in Nigeria have signed performance contracts with the Federal Government and the World Bank during May, marking the last hurdle to be crossed before the release of the first tranche of funds to the Nigerian Government. The benefiting universities, their centres and project titles are as follows: - Redeemer's University Mowe, Ogun State (Africa Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases, ACEGID) - African University of Science & Technology, Abuja (PAN African Materials Institute, PAMI) - Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (Centre for Agricultural Development & Sustainable Environment) - Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (Centre of Excellence on Neglected Tropical Diseases and Forensic Biotechnology) - University of Jos, (Phytomedicine Research & Development, ACEPRD) - University of Benin (Centre for Excellence in Reproductive Health and Innovation) - University of Port-Harcourt (ACE Centre for Oil Field Chemicals) - Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife (OAU Knowledge Park: A Model for National Science Technology & Knowledge Park Initiative) - Bayero University, Kano (African Centre of Excellence in Dryland Agriculture) - Benue State University, Makurdi (Centre for Food Technology and Research). Each Centre is eligible for a grant award of a maximum of $8 million. The contract indicates, among others, that the expected funds for the ACE project are subject to certain financial parameters. Each university was represented at the signing ceremony by its vice-chancellor and Centre leader. Speaking at the ceremony, the then Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau said that the nation was in an era where the lives of the citizens were, to a great extent, defined by innovations in the world of technology.

According to him, the ACE project was a call to action to tackle national and regional challenges, adding that the Centres had been entrusted with the responsibility of meeting the demand for skills required for the development of the nation and the sub-region, while strengthening their capacities to deliver high quality training and applied research. Shekarau, however, cautioned the management of the host universities against undue interference and substitution of team members, so as to enable the Centres focus on the objectives of the project. He said: "Any changes to a team must be cleared with the NUC. Government would also not hesitate to reallocate funds from non- performing ACEs to those that are doing well. It is therefore your responsibility to work in harmony with your team to ensure that they perform optimally."

Following the signing of the contracts, Mallam Shekarau said that the NUC would work with the World Bank to release 10% of the Centres' approved funds immediately to enable them commence work on their projects. He challenged the Centres to justify the huge amount of resources that the Federal Government had invested in the projects and expressed hope that results would be evident in no time.

Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary, NUC and Chairman ACE Steering Committee, Professor Julius Okojie, in his welcome address said, "The event was a great one for the Nigerian University System (NUS) because it was celebrating a success story." Okojie who lamented the criticism emanating from international communities, disclosed that for some time now, Nigeria had suffered a lot of criticism of its standard of education. According to him, the fact that universities in the country won 10 out of the 19 ACEs in a process that was strictly merit-based, was evidence that, though the system had suffered a great setback when it lost a significant number of faculty to the Diaspora in the past, it has survived and is doing well. The scribe, however, charged participating universities to ensure stable academic calendars so that the Centres can run smoothly, assuring them that adequate provisions had been made for funds, facilities and equipment.

Okojie stated that in signing the Performance Contracts, the Centre leaders would pledge to make the best of the projects, stressing that Nigeria has a viable university system and it was up to every stakeholder to protect it.

In her remarks, the World Bank Education Specialist, Himdat Bayusuf congratulated the Centres for scaling the last hurdle before the release of funds. She announced that the Centres had been working very hard since their selection and some were already breaking grounds in their fields, like the Redeemer's University, Mowe, which diagnosed the first case of Ebola in Nigeria.

She informed participating universities that the ACE Project also aimed to develop the system, based on what was already on ground. She announced that the NUC would co-ordinate the disbursement of funds to the Centres, while the Bank would adopt the results-based financing model for the Project, which meant that after the first tranche, funds would be released only to Centres that show evidence that previously-released funds had been judiciously utilised. 2 The World Bank, Bayusuf said, would also adopt the ‘you snooze, you lose’ model, which means that grants for non- performing Centres would be reallocated to other Centres that are doing well.

In a goodwill message, the World Bank's Country Manager, Chief Bayo Awosemusi, who represented the Country Director, congratulated the Centres for a job well done. He commended the support of the Ministry of Education and the dedication of the NUC and the Centres. Reiterating the remarks of previous speakers, Awosemusi said the Centres were selected through a rigorous process and expressed optimism that they would make positive impact on the development of the nation's economy.

He advised the Centres to ensure that team members were not changed, except on grounds of gross misappropriation of funds, adding that if the Centres kept to the rules, they would succeed. He noted that the ACE was a flagship project for the World Bank and that the Bank's senior management was closely monitoring it to assess how the Centres would achieve their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

On behalf of the participating federal universities, the Vice-Chancellor, Bayero University, Kano, Professor Abubakar Rasheed, expressed delight that the Project had become a reality. He noted that it was the first time such funds would be injected into the system for research and pledged that the Centres would keep to the terms of the contract signed. Speaking for the participating state universities, the Vice-Chancellor, Benue State University, Makurdi, Professor Charity Angya, stated that the University was excited at being a part of the Project, adding that the dividends of the Project had begun to pay off in research drive in the universities.

 The Tertiary Education Trust Fund The former President, Goodluck Jonathan, stated at the end of April that 138 Federal, State and private Universities in Nigeria would benefit from a N1.3 trillion fund set aside under the Tertiary Education Trust Fund. Some will be disbursed to all public universities over a 6-year period and will be targeted at the improvement of infrastructure, personnel development and the provision of other teaching and learning facilities. Amongst the institutions that will benefit from the release of funds are 40 Federal Government universities, 2 of which are military and paramilitary, 39 State Government-owned universities, as well as 59 private universities.

 The Creation of New Universities in Nigeria On May 20 th , the former Government's Federal Executive Council approved the upgrading of 4 Federal Colleges of Education to the status of Universities of Education, which was announced by the then Minister of Education Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau.

The new universities are the former Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo State; the Federal College of Education in Zaria; the Federal College of Educations in Kano, and the Alvan Ikoku College of Education in Owerri. In addition the Council approved the upgrading of the College of Medical Health, which is to become the new Federal University of Health Sciences at Otukpo in Benue State.

The upgrading follows the recommendation made by the Committee of Chairmen of Governing Councils of Federal Colleges of Education. As an example as to the reasons behind the upgrading, the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Emmanuel Anosika, cited the Alvan Ikoku College of Education which has over 180 doctorate degree holders as lecturers, which is more than most universities in the country have at present. The same logic applies to the other 3 colleges of education that have been upgraded, according to the Chairman.

 New Private Polytechnics and Innovation Enterprise Institutions and Vocational Enterprise Institutions On May 13 th , the then Federal Government presented operational licences to 4 new private polytechnics. They are: Nacabs Polytechnic, Akwanga, Nasarawa State; Uyo City Polytechnic, Akwa Ibom State; Polytechnic Igbo-Owu, Kwara State; Balmor Polytechnic, Ibadan, Oyo State.

The 34 IEI's and VEI's are institutions that were originally inaugurated by the Federal Government to provide an alternative route for Nigerians to gain access to higher education. They are all private institutions that will be able to offer vocational, technical, technology or professional education training at post-basic and tertiary levels.

The enterprise institutions will enable secondary school leavers and working adults with vocational skills and knowledge to meet the increasing demand for the country's technical manpower. They will be able to widen access to vocational education, and offer a credible alternative to higher education for Nigerians through the provision of relevant industry-specific employable skills and operational guidelines. The IEI's and VEI's were originally conceived to address the major problems in Nigeria confronting the shortfall of technical and vocational education in the county. They will go a substantial way to addressing the current mismatch between the training provided by existing institutions and the current needs of employers and industry. 3  Anambra State As part of efforts to revamp the 11 technical and vocational colleges in Anambra State, the State Government recently sponsored 23 teachers (including principals and administrators) from the State Ministry of Education on a study trip to Singapore. The teachers and principals were selected from the 11 colleges in the State.

The training and knowledge gained will enhance the four pillars of the administration of Governor Obiano in his State Government’s education programme through the provision of technical and vocational education. One of the beneficiaries of this programme, the Vice Principal of the Nigerian Science and Technical College at Nnewi said, “When I get to Singapore I expect to see how technical and vocational trainings are run according to best global practices and I hope to bring back that knowledge to improve our school system. Most importantly, I want to see how the institutions we are visiting run the theoretical and practical aspects of their curriculum, so that when we come back we can introduce the same in our schools.”

Explaining the necessity for the visit to Singapore, the State Commissioner for Education said that it was necessary to give the technical and vocational education system in the State a face-lift, as when Governor Obiano assumed office we noticed that technical and vocational education were at their lowest ebb in the State. Amongst the 11 technical colleges in the State, not even one had accreditation with the National Board for technical Education, a situation which has improved substantially during the Governor's administration.

 The Sir Emeka Offor Foundation Scholarship Scheme in Anambra State The Sir Emeka Offor Foundation is a philanthropic organisation based in Oraifite, in Anambra State. It seeks to alleviate the sufferings of the less-privileged through philanthropy, and focuses primarily on giving support and hope to those in need irrespective of tribe, creed, religion or nation. Since its inception the Foundation has affected the lives of many Nigerians through its domestic programmes and projects, which include Youth, Empowerment, Widows, Co-operative education, health services and infrastructure development. In this year’s examination 123 applicants for the annual Sir Emeka Offor Foundation Scholarship scheme were successful and the beneficiaries are made up of primary school pupils, secondary school students, undergraduate and postgraduate students.

The successful candidates are from various schools taken from the 36 States of the Federation. Amongst them is a biochemistry student who will now be able to read engineering physics at the University of Calabar, whilst another student of Public Health Parasitology, at Nnandi Azikwe University will now be able to read Botany at the university of Ibadan. Other successful applicants include students, one of whom will be able to study engineering at the University of Lagos, whilst another will be able to read Microbiology at the University of Sokoto, as well as another student who will now be able to read Environmental Management at the Anambra State University.

 Borno State At the end of May, Governor Kashim Shettima announced that as part of the measures aimed at taming the Boko Haram insurgency, his State Government will launch free primary and secondary school education for both indiginees and non-indiginees in the State who have been affected by Boko Haram. The State Governor said that he will dedicate the next 4 years of his second term to the reconciliation and reconstruction of destroyed communities, as well as the rehabilitation of millions of people that have been displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency.

As part of his State Government's education programme, the State Governor recently launched the distribution of free uniforms and books to over 10,000 students in the Southern part of the State. At the ceremony marking the occasion, the State Governor also announced that very soon free food will be provided in all secondary schools in the State in addition to which he has launched the food for all initiative, initially in Bayo, Hawui, Kwaya Kusar and Biu local government areas in the State. Over 4,000 households will benefit from the programme, which provides free food to all residents, as it is aimed at fighting the hunger experienced by those affected by the Boko Haram insurgency, and assisting farmers whip have not been able to go to their farms.

At the launch ceremony, each beneficiary was given a 50 kg bag of rice, and a gallon of vegetable oil as an initial token to mark the launch of the programme.

 Gombe State Under the United Nations Children’s Fund Scholarship Scheme and Vocational Training on various skills, which began in Gombe State last year, over 400 girls have so far benefited from the scheme, according to the UNICEF Co-ordinator in the State, Alhaji Isa Yahaya. He said that at present 330 girls were attending school on a UNICEF scholarship at the Federal College of Education (Technical) in Gombe, whilst the other students who had previously been commercial sex workers, were being trained in different skills and supported with tools of their new trade as they were being taught their new professions.

4 Initially there were 100 commercial sex workers who had qualified under the scheme, but this was reduced to 80 because of the refusal of 20 to continue with the programme. The beneficiaries are being trained to acquire new skills like soap making, pomade making, knitting, sewing, tailoring and others. These will lead to them being offered employment with companies in the State, whilst those who wanted to marry were being supported to do so through the Maiden Zawarawa Marriage Scheme which was formed in the State late last year.

 Kano State According to the former Vice President Nnamadi Sambo, the Federal Government has expended some N34 billion on the provision of various educational development programmes and projects in the higher institutions in Kano State, through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund. The former Vice president said that during the period 2010-2014, the total amount spent by the TET Fund for both infrastructural and academic training in Kano State Tertiary institutions amounted to N34,109 billion out of a total of N644 billion invested by the TET Fund across the country during that period. Amongst the institutions in the State that benefited from the disbursement of these funds were both Federal and State Government institutions, including BUK Federal College of Education in Kano, the Police Academy in Wdil, the Federal College of Education and Technology in Bichi, the Kano State University of Technology, the North West University and the Kano State Polytechnic as well as the Sa'adatu Rimi College of Education.

For the first time in history, the People's Republic of China has officially established a Chinese language College at Kwankwaso village, the home of the former State Governor Rabio Kwankwaso. Kano State has over 1 million Chinese indigencees living in the State, most of who are involved in trade or commerce, primarily textiles.

Speaking at the formal commissioning of the college, the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Gu Xiajie, said that the Chinese Government placed a very high premium on giving the indigenous people of Kano the opportunity to master the Chinese language, for the purposes of comprehending and enhancing business and future business opportunities. He also stressed that the issue of trade and commerce in the State could only be tackled effectively with indiginees of the State understanding the Chinese language.

In response, the former Governor said that he considered that the establishment of the Chinese Language College in Kano was an exceptional epoch, which should be celebrated with great pride, saying that the status of China as a formidable super power cannot be over-emphasised.

 Lagos State Before completing his term of office, the (former) State Governor and anticipated member of President Buhari's new cabinet, Babatunde Fashola, presented twelve 14-seater buses to student union executives of State and Federal Government owned tertiary institutions in the State. The former Governor explained that the buses were presented to students of Federal institutions in the State because his administration was concerned with the welfare of all students, to ease the transportation of the executives of the Student's Union, both within and outside of their respective institutions.

One of the final education projects nearing completion under his administration was the upgrading of the infrastructure at the Lagos State University to make that institution an enviable citadel of learning, as the LASU's Senate Building, the Student's Arcade, and the Lecture Theatres will be available for full use by students within the next 2-3 months.

Fashola, who must be regarded as possibly the most successful State Governor of the past 8 years, had made education one of his administrations top priorities. Included in his administration's programme was a little known policy that, to encourage vocational and technical education in the State, his Government issued over 600 contacts as annual maintenance projects at a cost ranging between N2 and N4 million per annum, ensuring that all schools in Lagos had regular and uninterrupted power supply amongst other facilities.

In one of his last acts he commissioned a contract with a strategic partner to begin installing solar panels in 172 schools in the State in the first round of projects which will be extended to all schools throughout the State, making it the only one in the whole of the country where all of its schools will have their own independent power supply. In addition, his administration introduced in its education curriculum technical and vocational education, in order to ensure that the students leaving education would be able to obtain employment utilising the skills that they had been taught, supported by a programme that led to successful, mature students obtaining employment on leaving university education.

 Niger State The Niger State Government has announced that it will spend over N595 million in recruiting 302 qualified teaching and non-teaching staff, as well as 6 management staff, who will be employed at the newly established University of Education. 5 The new University has received approval from the National Universities Commission on which N19 billion has been spent to upgrade facilities for the improvement of environmental issues on the campus. Separately some 212 academic and non-academic staff will be recruited for the State Government's College of Education, the funding for which will come from the source as mentioned above.

Niger State is yet another State Government that has a free education policy, which was inaugurated by the former PDP State Governor some 7 years ago. In 2015, it is to spend some N634.5 million on the payment of WAEC or NECO registration fees for the 34,957 candidates in various public schools in the State, who will sit the examinations of those institutions. Additionally to free education, the State Government also provides pupils with free school uniforms.

In order to ensure that there is quality education delivered in the State, the new APC administration under Governor Abubakar Bello will, in partnership with the Youth Empowerment Education Initiative (which is a non-Governmental organisation), finance the training of 7,700 teachers. They will, additionally, be provided with new computers in order to facilitate their jobs. Part of the financing for the State Government's education policy has come from access to N4 billion between 2007-2012, which was made available from the Universal Basic Education Commission Fund, with the balance being financed by the State Government itself.

 Ogun State Ogun State, like others in the South West geopolitical zone, also operates a free education policy for pupils and students. Following the re-election of Governor Ikunle Amosun, there is considerable ill feeling between the administration and the State Chapter of the Academic Union of State Schools. The problems revolve around the choice of the new Education Commissioner and the new Director of the State Ministry of Education, as well as the alleged failure to recruit qualified teachers into the Teaching Service Scheme in the State.

Like other State Governments, Ogun State owes teachers' salaries at least 4 months in arrears. Included in this are deductions of 12.5% of teacher’s allowances that have not yet been paid by the State Government. Due to the parlous state of the State Government's treasury, teachers who have retired or who have died in service are not being replaced, forcing parents to send their children to private schools, where education is not free.

Although the administration's introduction of Mission Schools 7 years ago have been a great success, as at the time they were originally established, the majority had just 2 classrooms with fewer than 100 pupils. Since then there has been literally an explosion of such schools where thousand of secondary school students now attend such schools, particularly in Abeokuta.

 Oyo State In a bid to boost education in Nigeria, the Japanese Government is to donate US$8.5 million for the construction of new primary schools in Oyo State. The programme will be overseen by the Japan International Corporation System and is expected to last 12 months, at the end of which some 30 new primary schools will have been constructed and will include 225 new classrooms.

This follows a similar programme in Kano State, and in addition to providing finance for building the schools; the Japanese organisation will also be responsible for the training of qualified teachers and teaching assistants. On completion a further State will be chosen to receive similar financial support and assistance in the construction and provision of new schools and classrooms.

 Almajiri Schools Almajiri schools were an initiative of President Jonathan 's administration, which began in 2013, primarily in Northern Nigeria. An extremely interesting article and analysis of the teaching and benefits of such schools was published in The Vanguard newspaper on 18 th March. Due to the importance of this particular aspect of education, the article is replicated below in full.

“Almajiri in the Islamic tradition is actually a high calibre word, it arose from Alima Jirud, people who are moving from one part of the world to the other, looking for Islamic or Arabic knowledge. In Nigeria, it has dropped to the lowest level, that it has now become a stigma. Today, no discerning and educated person wants his child to become one, particularly, the elite class, having been tagged the ‘ begging group’ in the society.

According to available statistics, there are over 30 million of these children in the northern part of Nigeria, who have become willing tools in the hand of hoodlums and enemies of the state. It was in realisation of this ominous situation that prompted the buildings of over 125 Alma Jiri model schools by federal government, mainly in the affected states of the north, and stuffed with state of the arts equipment.

6 The idea is to reform the endangered species and offer them the opportunity to determine their future through the provision of basic and qualitative education. But to take the initiative further the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion, NOTAP felt the boys deserve better. This time, it has begun the process of digitising all the Almajiri schools across the country.

The Director General of the agency, Engr. Umar Bindir, said the decision was taken by NOTAP in order to raise the knowledge of the Almajiri boys to the next level, believing that in the long run, they would be turned into a critical mass of highly skilled man power, with the 30 million of them currently in the country. He said: “We have to learn from other countries to produce these critical mass of skilled people.

With this initiative, they will go through education system, from primary school up to university and research institutions, which are the factory that can reform and produce these people as highly skilled manpower. Now the government has magnanimously introduced the modern Alma Jiri schools, so to a certain extent, I see it as a third tier frontier education below even the public institution, where at least people are mopping the children. It is an avenue to catch them and whatever we want to do with them we can be able to do it.”

Almajiri education is usually recognised with the image of wooden tablet and every child has one. They make inks, using charcoal and pen using sharpened sticks sitting on the floor to be taught by a Mallam but the NOTAP boss said all these will become history with the digitisation process. According to him, NOTAP hopes to use this government project to kill two birds with one stone by introducing the Alma Jiri slate (Aloha) with an inbuilt device , which is the image of the Almajiri.

On this device, the popular digital tablet will be embedded stuffed with different problem solving software soured locally at cheap rate. With the creation of the digital Aloha, he said those Almajiri school pupils, probably, will be more educated, because they have access to the highest level of knowledge source, because they will have everything in one place. “The tablet will still be the same as before but we have graduated to a different level. The digital tablet has an application for even the Koranic teaching or Arabic teaching. We will take the video of the Mallam go into the production system, break it into chapters; we will create an interactive video using the power of ICT. By the time the software is downloaded from the Internet, you have options to go backwards or forward.

“Because we are in a digital world, it has gone beyond Arabic. We can fix arithmetic or any other form of education, including videos to educate young children on how to make different kinds of things such as pastries, cooked food. All forms of educative videos can be uploaded into the tablet for use. “We are creating the digital aloha, those Alma Jiri schools probably will be more educated if care is not taken because they have access in the highest level of sourcing knowledge, because they will have everything in one place,” said Bindir.

Apart from the digital tablet, he explained that the wooden Aloha will be changed to plastic, meaning the project would be environmentally friendly and would be a manufactured uniform product in size and cost. Though, the product will come out of Nigeria, it is expected to be have international rating, manufactured in Nigerian, designed and sold from Nigeria to mainly all the Almajiris with the Alohas along the whole coast of West Africa, Central Africa and North Africa.

Affordability - To bring the price of the new device down to an affordable level, the NOTAP boss said, he had gone into negotiation with a Chinese manufacturer to make it a special tablet that the plastic and the whole things assembled with the landing cost, should not be above N10,000. According to him, the project is a whole market for Nigeria to actually produce the digital tablets subsequently with over 30 million out of school and street begging children.

Putting these together, he said, the project is expected to translate into a N300 billion Naira industry in Nigeria alone. This he said excludes the implication of software gurus from various universities that will do all these things. “The hope is that, a parent or guardian can go to a village with maybe N10,000 of these blank ones and can go to an entrepreneur to produce for his child. There is a board listing all the education materials at N100 each, which can be recharged at just N50 and download six educational software because you are thinking of your own constituency, your child or the children in the village.

Powering the System - For this Nigerian born enterprise, solar trees are going to be introduced in every village for charging of the device. NOTAP said, the umbrella would be solar panels while the trunk would be the battery so that the entrepreneurs can charge the new device and other gadgets such as phone.

How it Works - He said the software can be developed in any language, it can offer the Yoruba language with the Yoruba traditional knowledge, becoming a source of high level knowledge for children. The user also can spend time, listen to people, learn other languages just by getting package for as low as N100, especially at this level of children

7 where they are like magnet for knowledge, where anything that enters their brain never comes out. The target is that the new digitised Aloha can teach the child in absence of the teacher, teaching things where there is no teacher; teach high tech under a tree and have housewives participating in the education of their children with the inbuilt videos.

Project Scope - The project is said to have been designed as a national project for education. It is also about knowledge to lift the out of school children to the next level with the hope that in the coming years, the Nigeria will get refined English speaking children at the age of six.

Level of Readiness - Bindir explained that the project is presently at the level of the prototype innovation, said his target is to launch the new device in the last quarter of 2015, saying that: “this type of project when launched does not need to have a political sensitivity since there is no enemy in education. I think all problems can be solved by education. Education is the master sector, it is the key sector. I have not seen one child of an educated man doing Alma Jiri, so education is an antidote to Alma Jiri. Once you are educated, your children will never beg, even in cases where women are uneducated, the men that are uneducated probably are the ones pushing these children, the woman will never allow her child to go down to the lowest level,” he added.

The NOTAP henchman said the initiative is part of the agency’s ways of regulating the inflow of foreign technology into Nigeria. His position is that Nigeria is consuming foreign technologies because it does not have them and by digitising the Alma Jiri Schools, the consumption level of foreign technology in Nigeria will be drastically be reduced in all sectors.

Politics  Inaugural Speech by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari At 10.45am on 29 th May, in a ceremony lasting all day, the new President, Muhammadu Buhari mounted the podium to take his Oath of Office and that of allegiance to Nigeria in a ceremony that was conducted by the Chief Justice of Nigeria. Following his swearing-in as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari delivered his inaugural speech, which is reproduced in full below.

“I am immensely grateful to God who has preserved us to witness this day and this occasion. Today marks a triumph for Nigeria and an occasion to celebrate her freedom and cherish her democracy. Nigerians have shown their commitment to democracy and are determined to entrench its culture. Our journey has not been easy but thanks to the determination of our people and strong support from friends abroad we have today a truly democratically elected government in place.

I would like to thank President Goodluck Jonathan for his display of statesmanship in setting a precedent for us that has now made our people proud to be Nigerians wherever they are. With the support and co-operation he has given to the transition process, he has made it possible for us to show the world that despite the perceived tension in the land we can be a united people capable of doing what is right for our nation. Together we co-operated to surprise the world that had come to expect only the worst from Nigeria. I hope this act of graciously accepting defeat by the outgoing President will become the standard of political conduct in the country.

I would like to thank the millions of our supporters who believed in us even when the cause seemed hopeless. I salute their resolve in waiting long hours in rain and hot sunshine to register and cast their votes and stay all night if necessary to protect and ensure their votes count and were counted. I thank those who tirelessly carried the campaign on the social media. At the same time, I thank our other countrymen and women who did not vote for us but contributed to make our democratic culture truly competitive, strong and definitive. I thank all of you.

Having just a few minutes ago sworn on the Holy Book, I intend to keep my oath and serve as President to all Nigerians. I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody. A few people have privately voiced fears that on coming back to office I shall go after them. These fears are groundless. There will be no paying off old scores. The past is prologue.

Our neighbours in the Sub-region and our African brethren should rest assured that Nigeria under our administration will be ready to play any leadership role that Africa expects of it. Here I would like to thank the governments and people of Cameroon, Chad and Niger for committing their armed forces to fight Boko Haram in Nigeria. I also wish to assure the wider international community of our readiness to co-operate and help to combat threats of cross-border terrorism, sea piracy, refugees and boat people, financial crime, cyber crime, climate change, the spread of communicable diseases and other challenges of the 21st century.

At home we face enormous challenges. Insecurity, pervasive corruption, the hitherto unending and seemingly impossible fuel and power shortages are the immediate concerns. We are going to tackle them head on. Nigerians will not regret that they have entrusted national responsibility to us. We must not succumb to hopelessness and defeatism. We can fix our problems. 8 In recent times Nigerian leaders appear to have misread our mission. Our founding fathers, Mr Herbert Macauley, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Malam Aminu Kano, Chief J.S. Tarka, Mr Eyo Ita, Chief Denis Osadeby, Chief Ladoke Akintola and their colleagues worked to establish certain standards of governance. They might have differed in their methods or tactics or details, but they were united in establishing a viable and progressive country. Some of their successors behaved like spoilt children breaking everything and bringing disorder to the house.

Furthermore, we as Nigerians must remind ourselves that we are heirs to great civilisations: Shehu Othman Dan fodio’s caliphate, the Kanem Borno Empire, the Oyo Empire, the Benin Empire and King Jaja’s formidable domain. The blood of those great ancestors flow in our veins. What is now required is to build on these legacies, to modernise and uplift Nigeria. Daunting as the task may be it is by no means insurmountable. There is now a national consensus that our chosen route to national development is democracy. To achieve our objectives we must consciously work the democratic system. The Federal Executive under my watch will not seek to encroach on the duties and functions of the Legislative and Judicial arms of government. The law enforcing authorities will be charged to operate within the Constitution. We shall rebuild and reform the public service to become more effective and more serviceable. We shall charge them to apply themselves with integrity to stabilise the system.

For their part the legislative arm must keep to their brief of making laws, carrying out over-sight functions and doing so expeditiously. The judicial system needs reform to cleanse itself from its immediate past. The country now expects the judiciary to act with dispatch on all cases especially on corruption, serious financial crimes or abuse of office. It is only when the three arms act constitutionally that government will be enabled to serve the country optimally and avoid the confusion all too often bedevilling governance today.

Elsewhere relations between Abuja and the States have to be clarified if we are to serve the country better. Constitutionally there are limits to powers of each of the three tiers of government but that should not mean the Federal Government should fold its arms and close its eyes to what is going on in the states and local governments. Not least the operations of the Local Government Joint Account. While the Federal Government can not interfere in the details of its operations it will ensure that the gross corruption at the local level is checked. As far as the constitution allows me I will try to ensure that there is responsible and accountable governance at all levels of government in the country. For I will not have kept my own trust with the Nigerian people if I allow others abuse theirs under my watch.

However, no matter how well organised the governments of the federation are they can not succeed without the support, understanding and co-operation of labour unions, organised private sector, the press and civil society organisations. I appeal to employers and workers alike to unite in raising productivity so that everybody will have the opportunity to share in increased prosperity. The Nigerian press is the most vibrant in Africa. My appeal to the media today – and this includes the social media – is to exercise its considerable powers with responsibility and patriotism. My appeal for unity is predicated on the seriousness of the legacy we are getting into. With depleted foreign reserves, falling oil prices, leakages and debts the Nigerian economy is in deep trouble and will require careful management to bring it round and to tackle the immediate challenges confronting us, namely; Boko Haram, the Niger Delta situation, the power shortages and unemployment especially among young people. For the longer term we have to improve the standards of our education. We have to look at the whole field of medicare. We have to upgrade our dilapidated physical infrastructure.

The most immediate is Boko Haram’s insurgency. Progress has been made in recent weeks by our security forces but victory can not be achieved by basing the Command and Control Centre in Abuja. The command centre will be relocated to Maiduguri and remain until Boko Haram is completely subdued. But we can not claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls and all other innocent persons held hostage by insurgents. This government will do all it can to rescue them alive. Boko Haram is a typical example of small fires causing large fires. An eccentric and unorthodox preacher with a tiny following was given posthumous fame and following by his extra judicial murder at the hands of the police. Since then through official bungling, negligence, complacency or collusion Boko Haram became a terrifying force taking tens of thousands of lives and capturing several towns and villages covering swathes of Nigerian sovereign territory.

Boko Haram is a mindless, godless group who is as far away from Islam as one can think of. At the end of the hostilities when the group is subdued the Government intends to commission a sociological study to determine its origins, remote and immediate causes of the movement, its sponsors, the international connections to ensure that measures are taken to prevent a recurrence of this evil. For now the Armed Forces will be fully charged with prosecuting the fight against Boko Haram. We shall overhaul the rules of engagement to avoid human rights violations in operations. We shall improve operational and legal mechanisms so that disciplinary steps are taken against proven human right violations by the Armed Forces.

Boko Haram is not only the security issue bedevilling our country. The spate of kidnappings, armed robberies, herdsmen/farmers clashes, cattle rustlings all help to add to the general air of insecurity in our land. We are going to

9 erect and maintain an efficient disciplined people – friendly and well compensated security forces within an overall security architecture.

The amnesty programme in the Niger Delta is due to end in December, but the Government intends to invest heavily in the projects, and programmes currently in place. I call on the leadership and people in these areas to co- operate with the State and Federal Government in the rehabilitation programmes, which will be streamlined and made more effective. As ever, I am ready to listen to grievances of my fellow Nigerians. I extend my hand of fellowship to them so that we can bring peace and build prosperity for our people.

No single cause can be identified to explain Nigeria’s poor economic performance over the years than the power situation. It is a national shame that an economy of 180 million generates only 4,000MW, and distributes even less. Continuous tinkering with the structures of power supply and distribution and close on $20b expanded since 1999 have only brought darkness, frustration, misery, and resignation among Nigerians. We will not allow this to go on. Careful studies are under way during this transition to identify the quickest, safest and most cost-effective way to bring light and relief to Nigerians.

Unemployment, notably youth unemployment features strongly in our Party’s Manifesto. We intend to attack the problem frontally through revival of agriculture, solid minerals mining as well as credits to small and medium size businesses to kick – start these enterprises. We shall quickly examine the best way to revive major industries and accelerate the revival and development of our railways, roads and general infrastructure.

Your Excellencies, My fellow Nigerians I can not recall when Nigeria enjoyed so much goodwill abroad as now. The messages I received from East and West, from powerful and small countries are indicative of international expectations on us. At home the newly elected government is basking in a reservoir of goodwill and high expectations. Nigeria therefore has a window of opportunity to fulfil our long – standing potential of pulling ourselves together and realising our mission as a great nation. Our situation somehow reminds one of a passage in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: “There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life, Is bound in shallows and miseries.” We have an opportunity. Let us take it. Thank you.” Muhammadu Buhari President Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander in-chief-of the Armed Forces

 The new Government At the time of going to press the new President had yet to announce any nominations for his new Cabinet, having early in the month requested all of the 36 State Governors to nominate 3 people each and to submit their names to the President for his consideration and possible inclusion in his Cabinet.

Whilst (under the Nigerian Constitution) there is a requirement that there must be a Minister represented from each of the 36 States of the Federation, it is known that the new President intends to conduct his administration with a considerably smaller Cabinet than his predecessor who had 42 Ministers. It is believed that President Buhari only wants a Cabinet of 19 members, which means that in order to meet the requirements of the Constitution, there will be a substantial increase in the number of Ministers of State.

The main purpose is to reduce the cost of governance in Nigeria and a new President's Cabinet will be created through a merger of former Ministries into new mega-Ministries. These will be under the control of one Federal Minister represented in the Cabinet, with (it is understood) two Ministers of State reporting directly to him, thus enabling the new President to comply with the Nigerian Constitution.

On 2 nd June, the outgoing 7 th Senate approved President Buhari's request to appoint 15 Special Advisers to his Administration, but the names and appointments have not yet been released into the public domain with two exceptions; Mr Femi Adesina is to be the President's Special Advisor on Media and Publicity while Mallam Garba Shehu is to be the new Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity.

One of the President's first appointments is expected to be the new National Security Advisor who, according to reliable sources, is likely to be General (Rtd) Abdulrahman Dambazau. His Chief Security Officer is almost certainly going to be Abdullahi Maikano, who has occupied that position since he joined the President's retinue in 2002. Rather than there being disquiet and panic in Nigeria about the delay over appointing Ministers to the Cabinet, nearly all the press and most Nigerian elders are agreed that the new President's approach to appointing members of his new Cabinet is so vitally important that the time he has taken reflects how seriously he is taking his new responsibilities.

10 However, nominations from some of the States have become known, and include from Benue State the names of Professor Steven Ugba and Chief Audu Ogbeh, a long time Chieftain of the APC, and both have been nominated by the State Governor.

In Kano State the State Governor has nominated a former military administrator of Kaduna State, General (Rtd) Lawal Isa, whilst the new Governor of Taraba State has put forward the name of Senator Aisha Alhassan, who was defeated in the recent gubernatorial elections in the State. The nominees from Oyo State are understood to be Barrister Adbayo Shittu, and Barrister Iyiola Oladokun. According to APC senior party sources, the position of Secretary to the Government of the Federation has been zoned to the South East geopolitical zone and amongst the names under consideration for this position are the former Anambra State Governor, and ex-Senator, Chris Ngige, as well as a former Chieftain of the all Nigerian Peoples Progressive Party, George Moghalu.

Amongst those almost certain to be offered positions in the new Cabinet are the former State Governors Babatunde Fashola and Rotimi Amaechi, whilst it is understood that the President will assume personal responsibility for the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. Subsequently, Mohammed Dikwa was appointed Accountant General of the Federation on 11 th June, a week before President Buhari was expected to announce his new Cabinet.

The new President has just returned from an overseas trip at a meeting of the G7, and has stated that his immediate priorities are security, power, and education. In a speech in early May, the then President elect stated that his administration had identified three fundamental problems in the country namely security, the economy and unemployment, which is currently estimated to be as high as 49% of the country's estimated population of 182 million.

 The National Assembly In the last four years the 7 th National Assembly only approved 123 pieces of legislation out of 1063 bills that were submitted for their consideration, 46 of which were passed in one day in the final week of the Assembly's sitting. During this period the cost of running the national Assembly totalled N600 billion.

The National Assembly has a total of 469 members, comprising 109 members of the Senate whilst the remainder are members of the House of Representatives. Additionally the legislators have 8 and other support staff numbering 1,600, but at no stage has the National Assembly ever revealed any details about how their annual allocation of N150 billion has been spent. This too is to be a subject of investigation by the new administration.

The 8 th National Assembly was due to commence sitting on 1st June, but for unexplained reasons this was delayed for a period of one week. It is known that one of the first motions to be considered by the members of the new Assembly is a proposal to reduce the salaries paid to Senators and Members of the House of Representatives by 50%. This is to demonstrate to the country that the lawmakers themselves are making efforts to share the burden being experienced by the ordinary Nigerian due to the parlous state of the country's economy at the present time.

After weeks of intrigue, negotiations, campaigns and political manoeuvrings, Senator Bukola Saraki, a former 2-term Governor of Kwara State and now a 3-term Senator, was elected as the new President of the 8 th Senate, when he was returned unopposed by 57 Senators on 8 th June. He was not the choice of either the new President or the founder of the Party, Bola Tinubu, both of whom had supported his main opponent, Senator Ahmad Lawam, but the latter withdrew at the last minute prior to the election due to the fact that several of his supporters were absent, as they had been called to attend a meeting with the President which left Senator Saraki free to launch his coup.

Subsequently, Senator Ijke Ekweremamadu defeated Senator Ali Ndume in the race to become elected as Deputy President of the Senate. However, there may be serious repercussions regarding this as the APC hierarchy has launched a major investigation into these elections, as there appears to have been an infringement of the Party's rules and regulations.

In the race to win the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and in a major surprise, Yakubu Dogara polled 182 votes to defeat the favourite Femi Gbajabiamila. The latter, who is a member from Lagos State, carried the support of both the Party hierarchy and in particular Bola Tinubu. It was understood that the position had been zoned to the South West and it came as a major surprise that the eventual winner, from Bauchi State, was successful. Yusuf Lawan from Osun State was elected Deputy Speaker of the House.

One of the first priorities of the new National Assembly, the reduction in salaries as mentioned above aside, is the immediate reconsideration and passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, which has now been stuck in the National Assembly in different forms for over 12 years. Amazingly in its final week of sitting the 7 th National Assembly Members of the House of Representatives actually approved and voted in favour of the amendment Petroleum

11 Industry Bill but unfortunately the Senate did not follow suit. The legislation fell at the final hurdle due mainly to political intrigue and manoeuvring. It is estimated that as a result Nigeria will lose US$50 million in new foreign direct investment in the oil and gas sector in 2015 alone.

The Economy Perhaps the best way of demonstrating the effects of the fall in the world oil price and the effect that it has had on Nigeria, and ordinary Nigerian citizens in particular is to look at the monthly allocations made by the Federation Allocation Accounts Commission (FAAC), which meets monthly to decide on the distribution of revenues to the Federal, State and local Governments. Since June 2014 the monthly allocations made by the FAAC have fallen month by month. In March 2015, Nigeria's monthly revenue allocation fell to N315.04 billion whilst in April to declined to one of its lowest levels in decades to N282.06 billion.

After taking into account additional revenue from VAT, which realised N10.82 billion for the Federal Government, with N36.07 billion being divided between the 36 State Governments with the 227 local Governments sharing N25.25 billion, the statutory distribution to the Federal Government in April only amounted to N132.11 billion, whilst the 36 State Governments shared N67.01 billion and the local Governments N51.66 billion.

The US$1.48 billion which had been identified by Price Waterhouse Coopers in their forensic audit of NNPC and was due payable to the Federation Account has still not been paid despite several requests from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the FAAC and the Revenue Allocation Mobilisation Commission. This money would make a substantial and significant difference in the amount of money that could be allocated, particularly to the State Governments.

According to some estimates, 35 of the 36 State Governments are in reality insolvent, as the majority have been unable to pay in full their workers salaries for several months, with in some States arrears going back as far as nine months. At the time of going to press, a strike led by the Nigeria Labour Congress (due to the fact that the State Governments have not met their salary obligations to their employees) has affected 18 States and some of the new, incoming APC Governors have been met with a major shock due to the fact that their State treasuries are either completely empty or are substantially in debt. It has been estimated that at present the 36 State Governments owe contractors alone the staggering sum of N800 billion.

In both Bauchi and Kaduna States, the new State Governors Mohammed Abubakar, and Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, having been sworn into office, immediately announced that they would only accept 50% of their salaries, the balance to be paid into the State treasury as an example to the workers in their States. In Jigawa State, the new State Governor, Alhaji Mohammadu Abubakar has inherited a debt of N114 billion from the previous PDP administration which when broken down consists of an external debt of N5.2 billion, N95 million domestic debt, N1.2 billion in salary arrears, N842 million in pension arrears and liabilities, and an additional N14 billion overdraft.

In Plateau State the former Governor Jonah Jang left debts of N 104 billion to the incoming APC administration led by Governor Simon Lalong, of which N 18 billion is due to bank loans, with the balance entirely taken up by unpaid salaries and debts due to workers, teachers and debts due to contractors.

In Kogi State, the new State Governor has been forced to announce a 40% reduction in payments of monthly salaries to its workers, as its monthly wage bill amounts to N 3.2 billion, whilst in April it only received an allocation of N 2.5 billion from the FAAC. When he made this announcement, the State Governor said that it was either to take this option or to not pay salaries at all, thus extending the existing backlog already due to workers in the State.

In Kano State, the new Governor has found that he has inherited debts of over N300 billion, whilst in Benue State the new administration had discovered that the State Government is indebted to the sum of N90 billion.

A similar situation exists in Taraba State, where the outgoing administration left debts of over N27 billion. The new State Governor has had to negotiate with banks to convert the State Government's N7.5 billion overdraft into a term loan. This means that out of the State's monthly statutory allocation of N3.6 billion, N1 billion alone is allocated for payments due in respect of this new term loan, leaving the Government with only N2 billion to pay a N5.6 billion revolving term loan which it takes back in order to meet staff salaries of N1.8 billion monthly.

As a result in April the State Government had to negotiate a N30 billion bond in order to meet its monthly obligations, which will take at least 10 years to repay as its only other revenue, apart from that received from the FAAC, is that from internally generated revenue which currently only amounts to N140 million per month.

These States apart there are serious allegations from new Governors about looting of treasuries by former State Governors when they left office, including luxury cars and other vehicles as well as valuable Government property. 12 The States with the highest debts are Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Benue, Cross River, Ekiti, Emo, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers and Zamfara States. As three of those States, which are in receipt of the 13% oil derivation fund monies, it makes their situation even more remarkable.

According to the Director General of the Nigeria Institute for Social and Economic Research, President Buhari's new Government has inherited “a troubled economy with 70% of the population in poverty, over 15 million housing units deficit, an epileptic power sector, depreciation of local currency, a real sector that it is in comatose, environmental insecurity, and an inefficient transport system, which are all problems which need urgent attention, but there is no doubt of the sincerity of the new President and his administration in tackling all of these problems.”

A recent investigation revealed that in the last 7 years the Federal Government and the 36 State Governments spent a total of N34.4 trillion, and it is little wonder that the country with that expenditure record has an economy in such dire straits at the present time, as the sum exceeds revenue received by some 40%. On June 12 th the new Governor of Benue State, Samuel Orton, stated that the President is to establish a bailout facility to the State Governments to enable them to pay their salary obligations and arrears to contractors in full. The scheme to enable this is currently being devised by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission in conjunction with The Federal Allocation and Accounts Commission as well as the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria.

 The Revenue Allocation Mobilisation Commission The Chairman of the RAMC, Elias Mbam, has announced the inauguration of a remuneration committee, which has been charged with carrying out a review of the salaries and allowances paid to executives, legislators and the judicial officers with a view to them being scaled down to reflect the prevailing economic situation in the country. This is a fresh review which the Commission is constitutionally empowered to undertake.

At present, Nigeria's new President and his Deputy will earn annual basic salaries of N3,514,705 and N3,031,572.50 respectively. In addition, both are entitled to regular allowances, resulting in the fact that President Buhari will take home N14.06 million and his Vice President N12.13 million annually.

Members of the National Assembly in the Senate; a Senator receives an annual income of N8.2 million, a Member of the House of Representatives an annual salary of N4.2 million and State Governors N11.2 million annually. The salaries earned by the members of the National Assembly are higher than their counterparts in both the UK and the USA. A Committee will undertake wide scale consultations with all critical stakeholders including all arms of Government of the Federation, the National and State Assemblies, the State Governors and local Governments, professional economic bodies, the organised labour unions, the judiciary and academia with a view, ultimately, to these salaries being reduced. At the same time the Committee will identify areas of wastage and abuse as well as examining the implementation of the Monetisation Policy by Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

The last review by the RMFAC was in 2007, and in the current climate this is clearly very timely. It will certainly be welcomed by the ordinary Nigerian.

 Central Bank of Nigeria On 11 th June the Central Bank Nigeria again adjusted its exchange rate bench mark at the interbank market, moving it from N196.95=US$1.00, to N 96.90 = US$ 1.00. On the black market the Naira is trading at a rate of N220 = US$1.00, leading to many analysts expecting that the CBN will have no option at some point in the near future but to engineer a further devaluation of the currency.

 Inflation As expected, the Consumer Price Index rose from 8.7% in April to 9% in May. This was caused mainly by the increase in the price of food, which has risen due to the late onset of rains, which has pushed the harvest season back by several weeks. This was compounded by higher transport costs due to the limited availability of petrol throughout the country because the oil import marketers had ceased importing petrol claiming that the Federal Government owed them nearly N200 billion in subsidy payments.

 Power At the end of May, Nigeria's overall electricity generation supply dropped to an unprecedented low of 1,327 mw, before falling even further in the first week of June to just slightly above 1,000 mw, according to the then Minister of Power, Professor Chenebu Nebo. This was due to 2 factors; firstly a strike by the Nigerian Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, and secondly, pipeline vandalism, which is an ongoing daily problem which it is estimated costs the country a minimum of N120 million per month in repairs to each pipeline breakage.

13 The effect of the strike by the all-powerful NPNGSSA was to shut down virtually all of Nigeria’s power plants, including the Egbin Power Plant, the Olorunshogo 1 and 2 power plants, the Geregu 1 and 2 power plants, the Ihonvor power plant, the Omotosho 1 and 2 power plants, as well as the Sapele power plants shutting down power supply almost completely on the Western side of Nigeria. In Eastern Nigeria the Shell Gas Alakiri power plant, together with the Alaoji power plant was also shut down, which resulted in a situation, at the end of May, where electricity supply in Abuja had dropped to an abysmal 15 mw per hour, compared to a normal daily average of 450 mw, meaning that diesel-powered generators were running 24 hours non-stop.

In the period between 1999-2015, some US$20 billion has been spent on efforts to make electricity supply available throughout the country and yet the grim reality is that out of a population of 180 million, the country is - at best - only able to generate some 5,500 mw of power. Even the 3 major hydro-powered stations at Shiroro, Jebba and Kainji have all been affected, not by the strike but due to the fact that it is the dry season and they cannot operate at full capacity at this time of year. As a consequence, the country's total power generation capacity has fallen from a peak of 5,500 mw in April to its present level.

The future seems to lie in a combination of the further development of independent power plants, which was an initiative of President Jonathan's administration and has been a great success, in conjunction with using Nigeria's natural resources including gas and coal as well as wind and solar power. In May, the former administration announced plans to construct 13 large and medium sized hydro powered dams in Northern Nigeria, which, on completion, will be able to generate some 4,000 mw. In addition, an agreement has just been signed with “investors from Poland to build coal- fired power plants in Southern Nigeria, as it is estimated that the country has enough coal deposits to provide as much as 5,000 mw of electricity from such coal fired power plants alone.

In June, it was announced that the Russian Government has expressed interest in working with Nigeria to construct nuclear power plants in the country. An agreement to this effect has been signed, which will result in the creation of a minimum of 101,00 new jobs.

In one of the final acts of the former administration, it was decided that the Transmission Company of Nigeria should be divided into 2 separate entities, and that the management contracts with Manitoba International Hydro of Canada, which was given the responsibility of maintaining the electricity network throughout the country, will not be renewed when the current contract expires in June. The whole subject of protecting pipelines throughout the country will be reviewed by the new administration as before his inauguration the new President stated that it was totally wrong that former Niger Delta militants should be awarded contracts and given the responsibility for keeping gas and oil pipelines free from vandalism, which has resulted in several of them becoming multi-millionaires, should be curtailed and responsibility for policing and patrolling the pipeline network should be handled by the Nigerian Military, Navy and Police. It is expected that as far as possible the electricity sector will be opened up for full privatisation, to attract international investors with the necessary skills to solve Nigeria's diabolical power problems. This will certainly involve a substantial increase in the number of small, independent power plants being built by various State Governments throughout the country.

A classic example of bureaucracy and vandalism in the power sector was given in an article in The Daily Trust newspaper on June 9 th , and gives a clear picture of the problems facing the new administration and the realities of what is actually happening in the country today. Accordingly to acquaint members with these realities, this article is quoted below in full: “More than 800 megawatts (mw) of power supply from two completed plants under the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs) is stranded in the Niger Delta, a situation officials have blamed on the sabotage of transmission facilities. Briefing newsmen who were conducted round some transmission facilities along Egbema, a border town between Imo and River states, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company’s (NDPHC) Executive Director on Networks, Dr. Albert Okorogu, said it is battling to stop the sabotage and encroachment of transmission facilities across Imo, Enugu, Abia and Cross River states to deliver power from 563mw Calabar power and 330mw Egbema plant. He said ‘We have issues of power outage. In a country of over 180 million people, we barely generate 4,000mw and practically, most cities are left in the dark. These powers are stranded in our generation plants with people frustrating its evacuation and distribution to the nation’. Moving through the 330 Kilovoltage (KV) transmission line connecting the 330mw Egbema plant in Imo State with Port Harcourt and Owerri, Daily Trust gathered that new structures were erected right under the line, which is dangerous when they are energised for power evacuation. More so, some of the 330KV transmission towers were hacked down by unknown culprits. Officials identified one of the cases, saying it was a medical doctor who mobilised youths to hack down a tower weighing about 30 tonnes with a generator and steel saw for perceived inadequate compensation at the Right of Way (ROW). At the Enugu-Ikot Ekpene line that connects the completed 563mw Calabar Plant in Odukpani, pockets of uncompleted structures were also erected at transmission ROW far in the bushes away from obvious residential communities.

14 In his brief regarding the right of way, NDPHC Head, Environment, Mr. Ben Iruoha said ‘To allow construction of transmission lines, we had to create a corridor of Right of Way (ROW) to build the two level transmission lines of 330KV and 132KV voltage levels with 50 metres and 30 metres space requiring the acquisition of land and due payment of compensation. We had gone through these processes sometimes more than twice due to legal constraints especially along the Port Harcourt, Egbema, Ikot Ekpene, Owerri axis where people get court injunctions to stop our nearly completed facilities for not paying them enough compensations or for us to pay them another round.’ The official said in some cases the state governments who are part of the process of allocating the places and overseeing the NIPPs compensation reallocate those areas, especially those in the urban centres to individuals. ‘These encroachments and court injunctions have delayed transmission facilities that have caused stranded electricity supply in recent times especially from the 330mw Egbema NIPP, the Afam Power in Port Harcourt and 563mw Calabar Plant in Odukpani,’ Iruoha said. The Daily Trust learnt that some of these projects should have been completed two years ago, before the power plants were completed and ready for firing but have taken over four years with the plants ready and stranded at a time when electricity supply is grossly inadequate for Nigerians.”

 Oil For the first time this year, Nigeria's oil production figures for the months of April May and June have been released into the public domain and reveal a shocking picture as, although the Government's 2015 budget is based upon an oil production level of 2.278 million barrels per day (mbpd), in March it was only 1.867 mbpd, which rose to 1.886 mbpd in April. In May it fell to 1.881 mbpd although this has partly been offset in terms of revenue as during this period the world oil price has risen to US$66.04 per barrel as at 10 th June, compared to the budget target price of US$53 per barrel, but production in June to date has only averaged 1.878 mbpd.

At the June meeting, OPEC retained its production level at 30 million barrels per day, of which 55% is accounted for by 5 countries in the Gulf led by Saudi Arabia.

These figures are before taking into account the subject of oil theft, which by conservative estimates cost the country some 100,000 barrels of oil per day. Unless there is significant increase in oil production, then the Government's revenue forecast for 2015 from oil alone is going to be something in the region of 25% short. This is going to have a dramatically damaging effect on the economy and the Government's expenditure programme, resulting in a revenue shortfall of between US$5-10 billion in 2015.

It is increasingly likely that the new President (who is known not to be in favour of the Petroleum Subsidy) will, in the forthcoming supplementary budget, seek to abolish it and at the same time abolish Fuel Imports Contracts as well as revoking the Oil Block Licences granted by the previous Administration, following claims that they were awarded not having followed due process.

During the life of the past Government, it failed to conduct any official oil licensing rounds and oil blocks were awarded to political allies without following the proper laid down procedures. These were given as parting gifts to local firms owned by Government allies who paid only paltry sums, whist others were awarded to companies that top Government executives had one interest in, according to sources at the Department of Petroleum Resources. It is known that President Buhari's new Administration has already begun the difficult and complex process of retrieving some of the missing billion petro-dollars, lost as a result of the contentious awards of some of these oil blocks.

According to a report published by Sahara Reporters on 11th June, the former Minister of Petroleum Resources has been requested to give a formal account of her allegations against some NNPC officials and oil companies. What she wrote gave a picture of how some of the funds went missing. The document has now been forwarded to the EFCC in the form of a petition, as it contains the names of all the persons involved in the massive fraud in the oil sector including some past and serving officials of NNPC.

According to Sahara Reporters, “Amongst the companies implicated in her petition were Transfiguria, which was reportedly unable to account for US$80 million, Televeras was unable to account for US$111 million, whilst Aiteo apparently profited to the sum of US$150 million. Other firms named in the defrauding of the Nigerian people are Ontario, which failed to account for US$135 million and Sahara Energy, which has been accused of skipping the payment of US$120 million to the Government.”

Some of the named companies have already begun to pay back some of the missing funds, but this investigation is very much at an early stage. On 2 nd June a report by the House of Representatives ad hoc committee that had investigated the outgoing Petroleum Minister in the alleged shady deals with oil mining licences was rejected by members of the House. The rejection was based on the dissatisfaction of legislators on the Committee's recommendation that sought to give the outgoing Minister a clean bill of health from all the allegations filed against her. 15  NNPC Despite requests from the Federal Minister of Finance and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the sum of US$1.48 billion of the alleged missing US$18.5 billion funds, which should have been remitted to the Federation account by NNPC still, to date, has not been.

Members will recall that before his appointment as the new Emir of Kano, the then Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi, alleged that NNPC had witheld some US$49 billion from the Federation Account, which led to a forensic audit by Price Waterhouse Coopers, who in their 195-page report, concluded that only US$1.48 billion was outstanding. In an interview with the Financial Times , the new Emir of Kano alleged that the actual amount due to the Federation was some US$20 billion, which the new President has publicly stated is too large a sum to ignore and he has therefore directed that the investigation of NNPC should commence.

It is certain that there will be a major investigation into corruption for during the past 5.5 years and in particular relating to the theft of crude oil, smuggling and misconduct of former Government Ministers and the EFCC in conjunction with the State Security Service have already commenced some such investigations, which has led to billions of Naira being returned to the Federation Account.

 Nigeria's crude oil swaps Due to the inability of Nigeria's four oil refineries to operate at even 30% capacity, currently Nigeria exports some 325,000 barrels of oil daily which are exported to Switzerland where it is then refined and re-imported into the country, having been converted into use for petrol.

In a report covering the period 2009-2011, the Nigerian Extractive Transparency Initiative revealed that crude swap oil arrangements are not cost effective. Under such contracts Nigeria is losing billions of dollars per annum as the crude oil is exported below the market price, whilst the subsidy scheme for imports of refined crude is being systematically defrauded.

As a result it was announced on June 12 th that the EFCC and the State Secret Service have begun an investigation into crude oil swaps and in particular 3 contracts involving the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company, which is a subsidiary of NNPC and 3 oil trading companies, namely Sahara Group, Aiteo and Duke Oil, the trading subsidiary of NNPC. The investigation also apparently covers expired contracts with the Swiss traders Tarfigura, Talevearas, Ontario Oil and Gas as, according to Neiti, the revenue lost in the period mentioned above was at least US$600 million due to the discrepancy between the value of the crude oil exported and the products delivered.

Boko Haram Since the last Digest was published in April, the Nigerian Army in conjunction with the Joint Multinational Task Force (JMTF) consisting of troops from Cameroon, Chad and Niger have continued to make significant advances in destroying and eliminating the insurgency in the North East of Nigeria.

In a co-ordinated campaign, Nigeria's neighbouring countries secured the Northern fringes of the Sambisa Forest whilst Nigerian troops supported by 24-hour round-the-clock bombing by the Nigerian Air Force advanced into the Sambisa Forest, destroying over 50 separate Boko Haram camps in the process. Included in these was the most notorious of all, the Tokumbrer Camp, and the Alafa camp as well as dozens of others. During the ongoing operation over 1,200 hostages were freed, primarily women and children.

In separate operations, 260 women and children were located on the outskirts of Chalawa village in Adamawa State, where they had been hiding having escaped from being held hostage by Boko Haram. In another operation, following a military operation in the Sambisa Forest, 275 women and children were taken to an IDP camp in Yola, the capital city of Adamawa State.

Now that the majority of camps in the Sambisa Forest have been captured, Boko Haram insurgents have been left to launch raids, either in the form of suicide bombers or on towns and villages in the search for food, arms and ammunition, as the amount of munitions captured by the JMTF is quite staggering. In one recent operation alone, dozens of anti-aircraft guns were recovered alongside general purpose machine guns, hundreds of boxes filled with rocket-propelled grenades, as well as hundreds of AK 47 rifles.

The success of primarily the Nigerian Army can be attributed to three specific factors; firstly the skills and strategies of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Kenneth Minimah who has literally revolutionised the Nigerian Army. He is regarded as one of Nigeria's best ever Chiefs of Army Staff. His tactical expertise was evident with the introduction of the private military company, Specialised Task Training and Equipment and Protection Force that came from South Africa, which was staffed by South African mercenaries, with extensive experience in fighting terrorists. 16 In conjunction with Nigerian Military Commanders, the South African mercenaries were responsible for developing strategies that destroyed Boko Haram and which could not have been achieved without the ongoing success of the Nigerian Air Force. In the past 6 months the Nigerian Air Force has acquired a substantial number of new aircraft including King Air C-50 MI-series helicopter gun ships, DA-42 Diamond aircraft, C-130 aircraft, Super Puma helicopter gun ships and DC-228 fighter jets, the majority of which have been supplied by overseas countries including Russia, the Ukraine, Czechoslovakia, South Africa, the Netherlands and – more recently – Israel.

These 3 combined have proved to be the turning point in the 6-year battle against the Boko Haram insurgency, who have been effectively destroyed as a major centralised force and are now operating in small numbers resulting in intermittent attacks on small towns and villages, primarily in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States. There have been sporadic attacks on some large towns including Maiduguri, the Borno State capital as well as sporadic attacks on towns in Adamawa and Yobi States. Their main operations during the past 10 weeks have been the deployment of suicide bombers including ones in Maiduguri, Konduga, Tungushe, Nalari, as well as Fika and Ngalda towns, in the process of which, dozens of innocent Nigerians were murdered as the suicide bombers detonated themselves.

Other towns which have been attacked in the last four weeks include Bale and Kayamia, where several homes were burned after the towns were looted by Boko Haram insurgents which were searching for food and vehicles. In the latest incident in the town of Sadongara, in Adamawa State, Boko Haram insurgents killed over a dozen people and abducted six women before disappearing into the mountainous forest surrounding the town.

However, these attacks apart, there is no doubt now that we are witnessing the beginning of the end of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria although the fighting will continue for many months to come and in order to complete the operation President Buhari has directed that the Nigerian Army has moved its control command to Maiduguri the capital of Borno State, to assemble a significant force before launching Operation Zaman Lafiya, which is considered to be the final battle to eliminate Boko Haram from Nigeria.

With a similar Command Headquarters being established in Yola, the capital of Adamawa state, the total cost of which amounts to some US$30 million over the next 12 months, which includes the financing of troops not only from Nigeria but those from Chad, Cameroon as well for which the new President has appealed to the African Union to supply additional troops to support this new operation.

On 13 th July, the same day that Boko Haram terrorists attacked the villages of Koshifa, Matangale, Buraltuma, Darmanti, Almeri and Bumari, in the course of which they murdered 37 villagers and burned down dozens of houses and buildings in yet another of their sporadic raids, President Buhari made a crucial announcement.

He ordered the immediate release of US$21 million to be made available to the Multinational Joint Task Force, part of which will be used to acquire new, sophisticated surveillance fighter jets for the use of the Nigerian Air Force, whilst some of the money will also used to purchase new tanks, armoured vehicles, weapons and munitions for use by the MNJTF. This is part of the US$100 million pledged by the new President to enhance the fight and to eliminate Boko Haram terrorism in Nigeria. These funds are in addition to the US$30 million pledged in the first week of June by the member countries of the Lake Chad Commission and the Republic of Benin which, additionally, called on member countries of the African Union to supply troops to assist in the fight to eradicate Boko Haram.

On an equally positive note, the United Nations has commenced the first phase of providing livelihoods through an Early Recovery Support Scheme to 700 youths and women who have been victims of the Boko Haram insurgency. The beneficiaries will be taught the techniques of agricultural farming, and supplied with free agro-processing equipment and support which will also be given to another 1400 internally displaced persons as part of the first phase of this operation. Under the United Nations development programmes, conflict prevention and peace building, which is a joint effort in collaboration with other UN agencies, an early recovery programme is being formulated for the North East of Nigeria which is mainly targeted at women and youths.

Under this separate programme, which will take off within the next few weeks, it will include the establishment of an ICT based Early Response System in Adamawa, Borno and Gombe States. Separately the Lake Chad Basin Commission has announced an emergency development programme of costing N3 billion to complement the ongoing war against Boko Haram in areas affected by the insurgency.

At a meeting of Ministers of Defence, according to the Executive Director of the Commission, Mr Sanusi Abdullahi, Chief of Defence Staff of the Lake Chad Basin Commission Member State and a representative from the Republic of Benin in Abuja, the main purpose of it being was the reduction of poverty through the implementation of development activities in the region for internally displaced persons. Funds will be provided for women, youths and vulnerable groups to finance their training in social and professional integration skills acquisition with a particular

17 concentration on agro-pastoral farming, as well as small scale business enterprises whilst the US agencies for International Development, the United Nations Population Fund, UNICEF and the World Health Organisation have jointly signed a US$10.5 million grant to assist internally displaced persons in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States.

The agreement, entitled, “Integrated Humanitarian Assistance for North East Nigeria” is targeted at the estimated 24.5million people who have been affected by the Boko Haram insurgency, and included amongst the areas of intervention are immunisation, water, sanitation, psychosocial support, the prevention of gender-based violence, as well as reproductive health, communicable and non -communicable disease eradication and, in particular, nutrition.

In a separate announcement at the end of May, the British Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, announced that Britain is to spearhead the group of seven developed nations to rally the necessary support for President Buhari to finally crush the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria without further delay. According to the Foreign Secretary, “The emergence of President Buhari has given us a new opportunity to help Nigeria with both technical and surveillance support to tackle the problems of Boko Haram”, and went on to add that Britain was excited about the new President's realistic agenda to tackle the economic and socio- economic challenges in the country so as to give hope to the masses.

On June 15 th , the same day as the USA Government announced that it was donating US$5 million to the Multinational Joint Task Force, Boko Haram insurgents launched separate attacks on towns in Cameroon, Chad and Nigeria. During their attacks in Cameroon they invaded Dabanga, Ngassama and Barkhane, where at the latter a suicide bomber killed over 40 people. At the other two towns, the insurgents stole food, cooking oil and animals.

Separately a suicide bomber destroyed the Police headquarters in the capital city of Chad, the first ever such occurrence in which dozens of people were murdered. In Nigeria it was the town of Potiskum in Yobe State which was again attacked, this time by two suicide bombers who killed 11 victims and injured a further 22 Nigerians.

Amnesty International During the last week of May, Amnesty International issued a report entitled “Stars on their Shoulders, Blood on their Hands; War Crimes committed by the Nigerian Military”, accusing some current and former Service Chiefs of war crimes in the course of the fight to bring the Boko Haram insurgency to an end.

In its report, Amnesty International called for the investigation of some service Chiefs and Military Commanders over what they claim is the extra-judicial killing of 1,200 people and at least 7,000 others who they claimed have died in detention. The senior officers named are Lt. General Azubuike Ihejirika, who was Chief of Army Staff from September 2010 - January 2014, Admiral Ola S'ad Ibrahim, Chief of Defence Staff from October 2012-January 2014, Chief Air Marshall Alex Badeh, the current Chief of Defence Staff, and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Kenneth Minimah.

Other officers named in the Amnesty International report who they accuse of such crimes include Major General John Ewansiha, Major General Obiba Ethnan, Major General Adadu Mohammed, Brigadier Austin Edokpayi and Brigadier General Robamigboye, all of whom commanded troops or operations in the North East. In its 129-page report Amnesty International claimed that the victims were murdered, starved, suffocated and tortured to death in the course of the war on terror.

On 3 rd June and in response, President Buhari stated, “I assure you that the report will be looked into”. He went on “Respect for human rights and adherence to the rule of law are the life and soul of the democratic system. We will not tolerate or condone impunity and reckless disregard for human rights.”

In his report, Amnesty International's Secretary General, Mr Salil Shetty, outlines the roles and possible criminal responsibilities of those along the chain of command – up to the Chief of Defence Staff and Chief of Army Staff, submitting that “this sickening evidence exposes how thousands of young men and boys have been arbitrarily arrested and deliberately killed or left to die in detention in the most horrific conditions. It is also about the responsibility of Nigeria's leadership to act decisively to end the pervasive culture of impunity within the Armed Forces”.

There has been intense anger both within the Nigerian Army hierarchy and amongst its Armed Forces, and generally throughout the country against these allegations.

In response, a Defence Spokesman, Major General Chris Ulukolade, stated, “The Defence Headquarters has noted with dismay the gruesome allegations made by Amnesty International against some senior Military Officers, serving and retired, of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is unfortunate that all efforts made in the allegations were geared towards the continuation of blackmail against the Military hierarchy in which the organisation had embarked upon as 18 far back as the inception of the Military's action against terrorists in the North East. The officers mentioned in this report have no reason, whatsoever, to indulge in the allegations made against them. It is unfortunate that the organisation just went out to gather names of specified senior officers, in a calculated attempt to rubbish their reputation as well as the image of the Military. The action, no doubt, depicts more of a premeditated indictment aimed at discrediting the country for whatever purpose. Each of the previous allegations have been thoroughly responded to, and cleared in the public and officially. From the title down to the body of the allegation, smacks of extreme bias, which is disturbing, coming from an otherwise reputable organisation that is expected to be just and fair to all. Unfortunately in this case it has taken a premeditated position which is far from noble. It is curious that a body that has never been able to seriously condemn terror in Nigeria now claims to have done an open extensive research with the aim of discrediting the nation's efforts at containing terror. It is clear that Amnesty International becomes more active in presenting destructive allegations whenever the terrorists are losing ground in the battle. It is very unfortunate that Amnesty International has used this report to further confirm its questionable interest in the counter terrorism efforts in Nigeria. It will be recalled that the Joint Investigation Team was set up by the Joint Headquarters as part of efforts to ensure that no detainees suffer unjustly. The detention facilities were thrown open for visits and inspections by independent bodies such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, and other reputable international organisations and personalities.”

It is ironic that the report was published a few days before over 500 unburied bodies were discovered surrounding the town of Gwoza, which has been held by Boko Haram for 8 months from September 2014 when it was declared to be an Islamic caliphate by its then leader Abubakar Shekau, who was notably absent from the latest video to be released by Boko Haram, in which they state that their battle against Nigeria would still continue.

The atrocities Amnesty International appears to have forgotten that since 2009 Boko Haram has been directly responsible for over 14,000 innocent Nigerians being murdered by the insurgents, in addition to which millions have lost homes and livelihoods together with members of their families.

In a recent debriefing at one of the refugee camps, under the control of the United Nations, some of the former hostages being debriefed by officials told terrible stories of the treatment that they had received during their captivity by Boko Haram, which included innocent people being deliberately stoned to death, girls and women being inflicted with bullet wounds and fractured limbs. In one camp alone it is known that over 220 of the rescued girls were pregnant, in addition to which many poor children who have not been freed were forced to marry Boko Haram insurgents and have been taken away to a very uncertain and certainly very desperately unhappy future life.

An unquotable senior Nigerian member of Army Headquarters has told the Editor that it is a great pity that Amnesty International did not instead issue a report on the atrocities committed by Boko Haram rather than falsely accuse the Nigerian Army of committing crimes of which they are entirely innocent.

Circulated June 23, 2015

The content of this publication has been prepared by a Nigeria Correspondent for The Britain-Nigeria Educational Trust and whilst every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of the information, the Trust cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omission. It is recommended Members seek further advice before basing decisions upon the detail given in this Digest.

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